Also, systemd to shave a few more seconds.
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grawityApr 26 '11 at 13:12

I did see this answer to a somewhat similar question, but I was more thinking about building on top of a minimal distro than stripping down a big distro to make it small enough... I will try it, though ;)
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1aceApr 26 '11 at 15:56

2

With Arch the process isn't one of stripping down, but rather one of building up. You really start with more or less nothing: a kernel & some basic tools. From there you can proceed to build an OS ranging from a simple login prompt style/CLI all the way up to a full KDE4 DE. If you want to strip down, perhaps Ubuntu server edition (with a lot of apt-get remove)is a good distro.
–
boehjApr 26 '11 at 17:25

1

After a year using Arch in various contextes now (server, laptop, emergency USB key), I've grown to love it. It's probably not be the best, performance-wise, but it's close enough, so I think I'll stick to it. Thanks to everyone for your input :)
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1aceAug 4 '12 at 23:43

Alpine Linux - we boot a couple of HP proliant Microservers with it from USB sticks.

Might need to check NTFS mount support.

From the site:

It's quick: You can boot it from a USB stick and have a very usable system in less than 10 seconds.

It's simple: The package management and init system is a breeze to use.

It's more secure: When The Linux 0-day vmsplice vulnerability was causing admins everywhere to upgrade their kernels post-haste, Alpine Linux systems were basically impervious. Yes, the code crashed the application, but the PaX protection prevented system compromise. The value of PaX and SSP has been proven on more than one occasion.

It's small: The traditional GNU/Linux base system is over 100MB in size (excluding the kernel), while the base system in Alpine Linux is only 4-5MB in size (excluding the kernel).

It has the Alpine Configuration Framework (ACF): While optional, ACF is a powerful web application used to configure an Alpine Linux device.

It's great for experimenting: Since the system configuration can be backed up to a single file, you will be able to test configurations before deploying them to production systems. (See Alpine Local Backup.)

It supports Linux-VServer: Similar to FreeBSD Jails, it allows you to run virtual servers.